Jordan Belfort transforms from ambitious young stockbroker into the king of Wall Street manipulation. He creates Stratton Oakmont, a brokerage firm that becomes his vehicle for massive fraud schemes targeting innocent investors. Belfort recruits a team of ruthless salesmen who perfect the art of selling worthless stocks to unsuspecting victims. Money flows in torrents as the operation grows into a criminal empire worth hundreds of millions. Belfort drowns in cocaine, quaaludes, and champagne while his personal life crumbles around him. His wife struggles with his addiction and infidelity as FBI agents close in on the massive securities fraud. The higher Belfort climbs, the more reckless he becomes, throwing lavish parties and buying yachts while investigators build their case. His own greed and excess ultimately become the weapons that destroy everything he built.
Genres: drama, business, crime, non-fiction
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: downfall, greed-is-good, rise-and-fall
Setting: Wall Street
Period: 20th-century
Paperback
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use, explicit-sexual-content, violence